The Contagion Conspiracy
by Brainiac5
Summary: When Ryo is discovered unconscious in the cockpit of Uplink, Hikaru fears the worst. When the Exo-Force team hears the actual news, things go from bad to worse... is there any hope for the Techie? Exo-Force again. Another boycott fic. Enjoy!
1. Prologue

A/N: Heeey, did'ja miss me? Yup, you guessed it, it's another boycott fic. I just felt like killing somebody, or nearly killing somebody, and what could be better than a mysterious disease? Of course as I've mentioned before, I'm not too great at dramatic tension, so I thought I'd work on it a little. Tell me what you think-- the only way to do that is to REVIEW!! (Hint,Hint)

* * *

The sun rose as it always did, not betraying that this day would be different from the rest. But of course, the sun didn't know any better. How could it know that this day would plunge Exo-Force into a panic far worse than the time Takeshi had attempted to make lasagna? Also unaware of the imminent calamity, Ryo woke up and, like any other day, went about the first order of business-- eating.

Grimacing, the engineer shoved a spoonful of slop into his mouth and swallowed, trying not to taste the watery, plastic-flavored meal. A shudder ran down his spine and the techie shook his head, making a face.

Hikaru plopped his tray down beside him, sat down and shoveled several bites into his mouth, swallowing and chewing like it was nothing. "Hey Ryo," he said after a moment, "What's up?"

"The ceiling," Ryo mumbled miserably, stirring his slop and trying to work up the courage to take another bite.

"No, I mean--"

"I know what you mean," Ryo said, glancing up and grinning. "I'm not too bad today. I've got a few Battle Machines to work on, but other than that, I think I'll be free to play around with Uplink a little today."

"And by play you mean…"

"Upgrade it, of course," Ryo said, annoyed. _Why do they always assume we techies _'love'_ or _'playwith'_ our inventions like they're our children or something? You only really get emotional if they're totally destroyed or something. _That's_ when life gets miserable. _Shaking his head, the Battle Machine engineer shoved another spoonful of slop into his mouth and swallowed quickly. After choking yet another spoonful past his gag reflex, he scooped up another bite before pouring it back into the bowl and turning to Hikaru. "What do you have in mind to do today?" he asked.

Hikaru shrugged. "I think I'll practice some maneuvers with the Stealth Hunter," he said. "And maybe take a little nap."

Ryo grinned. "Still tired after your week of nightmares?"

Hikaru glared at him. "That's not funny. Just because you could rationalize everything that happened in that horror movie…"

Ryo shrugged. "It's a talent of mine. So sorry it bothers you."

"Not half as much as that movie did," Hikaru muttered before shoving the last few bites of slop into his mouth and standing up. "Well, you better get eating," he suggested. "If you're going to finish that before it's time for lunch, that is."

Ryo frowned at the brownish-green slop with little lumps floating on the top and pushed it away. Shaking his head, the engineer took the slop and scraped it into the waste bucket. He wasn't hungry anymore…

* * *

Ryo stared at the screen, biting his lip. The dull throb of a headache was not making this repair any easier, and he'd hoped to be working on Uplink by now. Shaking his head slightly, the Battle Machine technician stared intently at the computer screen for a moment, then bent down to pick a tool up off the floor. As he straightened, Ryo frowned as a wave of dizziness forced him to sit down for a moment. _Weird,_ he thought, cradling his head. _I guess I probably should have actually eaten my breakfast._

With a sigh, the Engineer turned and began to repair the armor on a Stealth Hunter, wishing it was Uplink instead.

* * *

Ryo's eyes flickered open, and he stared at the roof in confusion. _what am I doing lying on the hangar floor?_ he wondered, glancing at the tools lying beside him. Rolling his eyes, the engineer stood. "You'd think I would have at least gone to my room for a nap," Ryo said. "Ah well, guess I better head there anyway…" Ryo glanced down at the Battle Machine component lying on the ground near where he'd been only moments ago. "I mean, that power converter needs fixed, and I brought those tools into my room last week… haven't needed 'em since." With a shrug, the engineer left the hangar, not bothering to think twice about what he'd been doing on the floor…

* * *

Ryo's head jerked up as the obnoxious shriek of the Red Alert klaxons woke him instantly. Ryo frowned at the power converter sitting on his desk with a sigh, then stood. "I better make sure no one uses that Stealth Hunter," he muttered, jogging down the hall towards the Battle Machine hangar.

When he'd arrived, he made sure Sensei Keiken would watch to be sure that no one tried to take off in the Stealth Hunter lacking a power converter, then hopped into Uplink. He turned and took it out of the hangar with a smile. _Time to kick some robot backsides!_ Ryo thought, a grin spreading across his face.

* * *

Hikaru piloted the Stealth Hunter overhead, taking down Robots wherever he felt like looking. Then he noticed that Ryo was in a bit of a predicament. Falling back to help out, he tried to contact Exo-Force's newest pilot. "Hey!" he shouted into the communicator, "Why aren't you moving?! Those Devastators are going to tear you to shreds!" Frowning, Hikaru waited for a reply. Nothing.

Grumbling to himself, Hikaru flew in a sweep, chasing off some of the robots with a few well-aimed shots. Unfortunately, most of them were so close to Ryo he was afraid that if he tried to shoot them he'd accidentally hit Uplink. "Ryo, what are you, crazy?! Get out of there!" Hikaru shouted.

"_Something's wrong with Ryo?" _Ha-Ya-To piped up from across the bridge, piloting the Gate Guardian. _"Ha! Gotcha, tinhead!" _Ha-Ya-To addressed a Fire Vulture. _"Going down?" _he chirped.

Hikaru sighed. "Ryo!" He shouted, trying his hardest to sound intimidating. What was Ryo trying to do anyway? Play dead? If that was the case, he was definitely going to be more than just _playing_ if he didn't move it.

"_What's up with Ryo?" _Takeshi asked, turning the Grand Titan in Uplink's direction. _"Did he fall asleep at the wheel?"_

"I certainly hope not," Hikaru muttered, zooming down. "Come on, idiot! Get out of there!" he yelled, seeing about seven Thunder Furies take aim simultaneously. Gritting his teeth, Hikaru threw the Stealth Hunter into a steep dive, smashing into Uplink and sending both Battle Machines flying.

Though tumbling across the ground, Hikaru managed to catch a glimpse of the Thunder Furies' attacks practically destroy the very ground they were standing on, knocking most of them down and leaving them open for the Exo-Force pilots to take them down. Then the scene was swept away as Stealth Hunter and Uplink finally stopped tumbling and settled at abnormal angles.

Frowning, Hikaru realized both Battle Machines were now quite useless. Grumbling to himself, he jumped out of the Stealth Hunter, running over to Ryo's Cockpit and pulled it open, intending to give the Pilot the loudest, longest chewing out he could think of. But when he opened the Cockpit, any words of scolding withered and died before leaving his mouth.

"What the… Ryo!" Hikaru pulled the unconscious pilot from his Cockpit and looked for any signs of injury. Nothing. Frowning, Hikaru carefully examined Ryo's entire head for any signs of… well, he didn't know what he was looking for, honestly. Carefully Hikaru stepped into Uplink's cockpit and grabbed the portable communicator. He brought it back onto the ground where he'd left Ryo and flicked it on. "Sensei Keiken!" Hikaru said urgently, "I need some medics out here right away."

"_Where?"_ the Exo-Force leader asked, instantly paying full attention to whatever Hikaru had to say.

"Just track the coordinates of this communicator," Hikaru replied. "Hurry."

"_What's wrong?" _Keiken asked, ready to inform the medics what to be prepared for.

"I… I don't know!" Hikaru replied. "It's Ryo, and he's unconscious. I don't see any external signs of injury…" Hikaru broke off, staring at Ryo's head, resting on his knees. "Wait, I think he's waking up," Hikaru said.

Ryo's eyes flickered open. "Stop it," He whispered hoarsely.

Hikaru frowned. "Stop what?"


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: here's chapter two. That's really all I can think to say. Enjoy it!

* * *

With a scream, Ryo's face contorted. "Stop it!" he cried, agony twisting his face.

Hikaru nearly dropped him. "I'm not doing anything!" he cried.

"_Hikaru, what's going on?!" _Keiken demanded from the communicator.

"Please…" Ryo begged, eyes unfocused, "…make it stop…"

Hikaru sighed, frustrated at his own incompetence. What was he supposed to stop, and how?! "Sensei, He's awake," Hikaru said into the communicator, holding Ryo's with one arm and holding the communicator with the other.

"_So I can hear. What are you doing?"_ Sensei asked calmly.

"Nothing!" Hikaru snapped. "I don't know what his problem is!"

"_The medics are on their way," _Keiken assured him. _"Just hang on."_

Ryo shrieked in agony, his body convulsing. Hikaru dropped the communicator and held him as still as possible-- that was one of the rules for Battle Machine accident victims, wasn't it? He couldn't remember. "C'mon, Ryo," Hikaru pleaded, "It's okay. Calm down, please?" But of course, Ryo couldn't hear him…

Within a minute, the convulsions had ceased, but the young pilot remained unconscious. Hikaru continued to hold onto him, for fear Ryo would get up and accidentally kill himself should Hikaru dare let go of the engineer.

Suddenly, Ryo's eyes snapped open. "There are bugs in my head," he said, "Get them out."

Hikaru frowned. _Oh great. Now he's delirious._ "There aren't any bugs in your head, Ryo," he said, just in case Ryo could hear him.

"The Thunder Furies want Uplink. Mecha One told me so!" Ryo cried, sitting up suddenly. "But the bugs say he's lying," Ryo mumbled, sounding more calm, allowing Hikaru to help him lay down again. "They want my Uplink," he murmured, eyes closing slightly. "Don't let them have Uplink."

"Don't worry Ryo," Hikaru assured him, "I won't let them take Uplink."

"Good. I'll tell the bugs," Ryo murmured, and then lay so still Hikaru was worried he wasn't breathing anymore. Just when he felt like screaming to break the tension, the medics arrived from what seemed like midair.

"We'll take it from here," One of them said, stringy dark brown hair hanging in in front of his face. Absently, Hikaru wondered how he could _see_ through that mess. "Any idea what's wrong with him?" the medic asked, cringing in sympathy as an explosion betrayed the barrage of Sentries mercilessly firing on Exo-Force pilots nearby.

"If I knew what was wrong, would I look so confused?" Hikaru demanded irritably. "Would I have called for a medic? Scratch that, I probably still would have," He muttered, feeling the urge to pull his hair, or possibly the medic's.

Shrugging amiably, the medic strapped Ryo onto a stretcher while another one took his blood pressure and yet another medic shone a light in his eyes, presumably to check for a concussion or other brain damage possibilities.

Hikaru spoke up, trying not to laugh hysterically. The scene was surreal. Uplink trashed, Ryo dying. It didn't seem possible… was it? "If he starts talking about Bugs, Uplink or Mecha One, don't worry," Hikaru said. "It wouldn't be a new symptom."

The medic frowned. "You're saying he's delirious?"

"I'm saying he sounds like a nutcase, that's what I'm saying!" Hikaru exclaimed, waving his hands in a helpless gesture. "Just… make sure he gets better fast. He knows how to fix the Stealth Hunter better than anyone else, and it definitely needs some repairs." Hikaru cast a disgusted glare in the direction of his decimated battle machine.

The medic nodded and prodded the small engineer.

"No… don't eat those…" Ryo murmured, trying to sit up. "They'll make you vomit. I don't want to clean it up…" One of the other medics pushed him back down, frowned and carefully made a notation on a chart.

"Do you have any other information-- what exactly happened?" The only medic that had spoken asked Hikaru.

"I was just flying Stealth Hunter and realized Uplink wasn't moving, even though it was surrounded by a deadly serious amount of Devastators in Thunder Furies," Hikaru said, "So I ended up knocking his and my battle machine out of the way-- speaking of which, he's going to kill me whenever he wakes up-- Uplink's like his baby, or something."

"_If _he wakes up," the medic corrected Hikaru coldly.

Hikaru frowned. "If? He's not that bad off, is he?"

The Medic shrugged noncommittally. "We'll see," He said, standing up. "All right," He said to the other two medics, "Let's head back to base." With a nod, the other two hefted the stretcher and carefully carried it over the two destroyed Battle Machines and disappeared from sight. Hikaru wished he could make what the medic had said disappear just as easily.

* * *

"Where's Ryo?" Takeshi asked Ha-Ya-To, glancing around the Exo-Force hangar. "Come to think of it, where's Uplink?"

Ha-Ya-To shrugged. "Dunno. Where's Hikaru? His Stealth Hunter isn't here either."

Hikaru trudged over, looking beaten and discouraged. "Hey guys," He half-mumbled.

"Hey Hikaru!" Ha-Ya-To grinned, turning around. "Whoa," He said, moving back a step. "What happened to you?"

"Stealth Hunter's in a bad way," Hikaru sighed, "And that's not the worst of it."

"How could there be something worse for a pilot than knowing his Battle Machine is in need of repair?!" Ha-Ya-To demanded. "It makes me edgy just _thinking_ about the possibility having to wait for the Gate Guardian to be fixed!"

"It could be worse if Ryo's dying!" Hikaru shot back. "_That's_ how it could be worse."

"Ryo's dying?" Ha-Ya-To asked, suddenly very serious. "If those rusty buckets of bolts did anything to hurt him or Uplink, I swear--"

"It wasn't the Robots," Hikaru said. "Well, not directly at least. The Medics still don't know what it is, but they think it could be a biological weapon. And… it might be contagious."

Takeshi frowned. "Where would Mecha One get an idea like that? It seems too… I don't know, too smart for him. Even though he is the Robot's leader, I mean…He's still just a Robot, albeit a smart one."

"I know what you're saying," Hikaru agreed. "Sensei Keiken says there's a big possibility that there are still some people from the other side of Sentai Mountain being held by the robots… maybe they squeezed the idea out of one of them."

"Or maybe… it might even be a genetic disease," Ha-Ya-To said suddenly. "You know, an inherited trait? Ryo's parents both died of a mysterious disease when he was very young. Maybe…" Ha-Ya-To shook his head suddenly. "I don't want to think about it."

"Then don't," Hikaru snapped irritably, shaking his head. _Ryo, what have you gotten yourself into? And is there any way to get you out again?_


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: And the dramatic tension becomes more... tense? Yeah, I guess. Tell me if I'm doing okay so far, an author is never distant enough from their work to know what they are and aren't doing right... IN OTHER WORDS-- REVIEW!!

* * *

Hikaru had never liked the way hospitals and other med centers smelled-- like cleaning solutions and sick people. They seemed to have bad… vibes, though he wished he could think of a better word to describe it. With a sigh, Hikaru turned back to the window that separated everyone who wasn't a doctor from the sick, possibly dying Ryo.

"He doesn't look so good," Ha-Ya-To murmured, pressing his nose against the glass, ignoring the fact that this just steamed it up and made it smudged. Ryo would be appalled.

But Ryo wasn't awake.

"I wish there was something we could do," Takeshi muttered. "I feel so helpless."

"I know what you mean," Hikaru said, shaking his head and turning away from the fragile-looking techie. He wasn't used to seeing the guy still. Ryo was always moving, always on the run, before this… He didn't even take the time to eat most of his meals! He seemed to survive on theories and new Battle Machines, not food-- the average human's sustenance.

Shaking his head, Hikaru grimaced. Who ever said that Ryo had even been average, normal? All anyone other than Sensei really knew was that he'd been an incredible engineer in a factory, great at fixing things on the fly. Hikaru sighed and glanced back into the med room, dismal thoughts clouding his features.

"I wonder what's wrong with him," Ha-Ya-To murmured.

"Don't we all?" Takeshi asked rhetorically, sighing and turning away. "I just really, really hope it isn't contagious."

"I just hope it isn't deadly," Ha-Ya-To shot back. "We _need_ Ryo."

_If only Ryo knew that, _Hikaru thought. Ryo never talked about his past, his family. Not his parents, or siblings, cousins… Hikaru remembered Sensei saying something about a sister once. But still, why didn't Ryo ever say anything about his personal life? Why was he such a mystery?

Would he ever learn the answers, or would the answers to the questions that haunted him just disappear-- along with Ryo?

* * *

_Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Every flow is flooding my mind, my head… it feels like my head is going to explode. And the lights… why are they so bright? My eyes aren't even open, so why are they burning like this? _

Ryo's face twitched slightly. It was the first movement Hikaru had seen in hours. After staring for a moment and, seeing nothing, Hikaru sighed. Turning around to stare at the wall behind him, he realized that everyone else had left. Slowly, Hikaru returned to glaring at the bright lights shining down on Ryo for a moment. _I wonder what he's thinking…_ Hikaru wondered, shaking his head.

_Thud-thud, thud-thud, thud-thud. It's my heartbeat. That's what's making my head hurt. It's filling my head… ugh. What are these tubes doing, putting more fluids in me? No. No, get them out… too much flow… my head…_

_There. Out._

Hikaru frowned, spinning around from his careful examination of the back wall. He though he'd heard something. Had Ryo moved? What didn't look right about his picture? Hikaru sure _thought_ he'd heard something but maybe… oh, wait, he-- had Ryo pulled his own IV tubes out? Was he awake? And if he was awake, why was he pulling out his IV's? Didn't he want to get better? Was he going to try and stand up? What was going on?! Hikaru leaned against the glass, trying to see better.

_Oww… what's that buzzing? Ugh, it's all up my arm… I can't feel my arm… my chest… full. Can't.. can't breathe! No! Must…breathe!!_

Hikaru gasped as Ryo's body began to buck uncontrollably. He looked around for a medic, but no one was in sight. Twisting back and forth, Hikaru's eyes alighted on the call button. He jabbed it and waited for someone to pick up.

'_What's going on?'_ Someone asked.

"It's Ryo! He's having a seizure or something!" Hikaru cried.

'_Make sure his intravenous tubes stay in!'_ The medic replied. Sounds of shouts and clattering filled the background. '_We're on the way._'

"But--" Hikaru began, but the Medic terminated the communication link, obviously headed to the medical room. It hadn't been expected that any of the Pilots would fall prone to disease-- they barely had the standard infectious disease equipment, and if this infection was contagious, Sensei Keiken had told Hikaru they might have an epidemic on their hands.

Hikaru certainly hoped not.

"Here-- move," A white-coated medic shoved past Hikaru and entered the room, pulling on a mask. Within seconds, the area around Ryo was a swarm of white coats and demands for different medicines and other things that Hikaru didn't recognize.

_I had no idea we had so many medics,_ Hikaru thought. _I thought there was only, like, one!_

"Did you see what happened?"

"What?" Hikaru glanced up, and once again saw the same medic who had come on the field to fetch Ryo when he'd first passed out. His hair seemed, if possible, stringier and more scraggly than before.

"I said," the brown-haired medic repeated, "did you see what happened?"

"Um, sort of," Hikaru said. "I was going to leave when I thought I heard him move. I turned around and… I think he pulled out his IV tubes." Frowning, Hikaru thought. "I think it was thirty seconds later he started convulsing."

The medic nodded, scribbling some notes on his clipboard. "Uh-huh. Did he make any noise?" Absently, Hikaru wondered if the guy could even read his own handwriting.

"No," Hikaru said after a moment, remembering he'd been asked a question. "Well, no talking or moaning or anything," He clarified.

Just then a scream exploded from where the Doctors had been working on Ryo. "No! Stop them!! I can't see! I'm blind! Make them stop!!"

The medic glanced back at the room behind him, shrugged and made another scribble on one of the papers on his clipboard. Hikaru cringed. He never liked the idea of being sick, not being in your right mind… he'd always been afraid of going crazy, and the possibility of getting this disease scared him all the more.

"Ow…" came Ryo's voice from inside the room again. "Could you maybe make it a little brighter in here? I think I haven't been completely torched by the intensity of those lights yet." A few of the doctors stepped back, exchanging worried glances. Or was it confusion? Hikaru couldn't tell.

"Why am I strapped down? I'm not that strong, and I never really liked sleeping on my back. May I please roll over?"

A couple medics exited the room silently. Then, one of them broke off from the group and walked over to brown-and-stringy, punching him in the shoulder. The medic had white-blonde hair cropped short and spiked. "Hey, Shiro," He chuckled, "You were wrong."

"I know," brown-stringy said. "Go ahead, rub it in my face. I don't care."

"I _told_ you he would wake up, Shiro! See? Who knows best, eh?" Spike intentionally bumped into Stringy, chuckling.

"Whatever. It's not like he's cured," Stringy-Shiro shot back. "You're making this out to be a big deal, Taeko. It isn't. He's still sick. We still don't know why. Waking up from a coma is not a full recovery-- it just means we still have unexplained symptoms."

"Wow. You're cold, Shiro," Taeko-Spike chided, shaking a finger. "We'll finish this later." He turned to leave and bumped into Hikaru. "Oh, sorry," He said. "Didn't see you." and then strode quickly down the corridor, followed by Stringy-Shiro.

Hikaru watched the two medics still in the room hover over Ryo, asking questions. Shaking his head, Hikaru stood and left, slowly working his way down the hall. _'He's still sick. Waking up from a coma is not a full recovery…we still have unexplained symptoms…' Ryo, why couldn't you just get sick like a normal guy? Why do you have to be such an over-achiever?!_


	4. Chapter 3

AN: Hey hey, guess what everybody? We finally have contagions! this must mean we're getting close to the end! I'm actually starting to make sense! Anyway, sorry for the obnoxious calls to review, but really... I could use the advice. (couldn't we all?) Anywho, enjoy!

* * *

Ryo stared at the wall, albeit begrudgingly. Even if it wasn't the wall's fault that the ceiling was full of obnoxiously bright lights that left huge afterimages on his retinas, Ryo didn't care. He was bored, tired and achy, and the wall wasn't helping at all. It didn't even have the decency to look repentant!

_There I go again, expecting inanimate objects to show signs of sentience. Perhaps I can blame it on whatever put me in the med center. I really wish I knew why I'm here… _Sighing, Ryo allowed his thoughts to wander as he glared at the wall, daring it to do something exciting. Unfortunately, the wall was nothing more than a solid white surface and barely as interesting as breakfast slop.

Ryo frowned, considering that. If even the regular Exo-Force food was that bad, what on earth was he going to have to choke down for _hospital food?! _

The thought was not at all pleasant. _Well, at least I have something to look forward to… a nutritious form of torment. Because I'm sick, they're actually going to make me eat it. Unless…_ Ryo sighed. _Unless I act like I'm not hungry and they try and tempt my appetite. Yeah right. More likely they'll get Takeshi to ram it down my throat. Yeah, that sounds more plausible…_

"Ryo? You awake?"

Startled, Ryo nearly flew out of bed.

"Calm down!" the voice said, sounding slightly concerned. "It's not like I'm a Devastator."

Who… where was-- oh. Right. Hospital room. He was probably in quarantine until they figured out what was wrong with him. Ryo turned his head to stare out the transparent full-wall window that had simply shown him another blank wall on the other side of the glass, until now.

Ha-Ya-To waved, as if to say '_Yes, you found me!'_ "What's up?"

"I'm tired. Sore. And really worried about something," Ryo answered.

"What's that?" Ha-Ya-To asked.

"Is Uplink okay?" Ryo asked, trying to sit up.

"Stay down, and yes, Uplink's fine." Ha-Ya-To answered quickly, waving his arms to try and calm the Techie.

"What's the big deal with sitting up?" Ryo demanded. "It's not like I almost died, or something. Sure, temporary memory loss. But I'll get it back any day now."

"Ryo, I don't think you understand what's going on," Ha-Ya-To said, the most serious Ryo had ever seen him.

"It's a routine enough occurrence, Ha-Ya-To. No need to fuss, honestly. I simply suffered a minor cranial injury, I was knocked unconscious, and now everyone's terrified that my IQ departed with my awareness. I'm _fine_."

"You were in a _coma,_ Ryo. You passed out for absolutely no conceivable reason!"

"Since when do you use words like conceivable?!" Ryo demanded. Then what Ha-Ya-To had said hit him. "Coma?"

"Coma," Ha-Ya-To affirmed. "For five days."

* * *

"So, how're you doing?" Hikaru asked, tapping on the glass.

"Don't touch the glass please, you'll smudge it," Ryo said. Then, "I've been better, although, according to the medics, I've also been worse."

"Got any theories?" Hikaru asked, "I mean, about what caused this."

"I'm an engineer, not a medic," Ryo said. "I deal with computers and mechanical components, not with biological…" here he broke off, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "I never really considered the possibility of biological weapons via the robots," Ryo muttered. "I'm surprised they haven't thought of it before now."

Hikaru shrugged. "Yeah. So, if it wasn't the robots, could it be anything else?"

"Not unless it had something to do with chemicals, most likely," Ryo said. "I do work with dangerous fumes all the time. But I get the feeling that if I had been exposed to any of those, I'd already be, well, dead."

Hikaru winced. "I wish you wouldn't say that."

"What, dead?" Ryo asked, glancing at him with curiosity in his eyes. "Why not? It's the way of things. Everyone dies, Hikaru. Everyone."

"I don't like to think about what would happen if we lost our best engineer," Hikaru said.

"Really? He's sick too?" Ryo asked. "But Masaya just visited me an hour ago! Wow, I had no idea the disease was spreading this--"

"I meant _you,_ Ryo!" Hikaru snapped, pounding the glass with his fist.

"Oh, well, I wouldn't say I'm the best," Ryo said, shrugging. "Especially not while I'm stuck in here," he frowned. "And stop smudging the glass, please. I _do _have to see through it, you know."

* * *

Ryo stared at the wall, once again alone and bored. True, it was doctor's orders that he stay in bed, but… he was so bored! With a grunt, Ryo sat up. He waited to see if he felt any effects, and when he didn't, the purple-haired techie swung his legs over the edge of he bed, and stood. He glanced around, and, seeing no one, carefully took a step. And another. And another.

He paced for about ten minutes, then tried the door. It was unlocked. Ryo quickly pulled on a mask so he wouldn't transmit whatever he had-- if it was contagious-- and headed down the hall. He'd been thinking about his project for a long time now, and it was high time he got back to it.

* * *

"He's gone, Sensei! No sign of him!" Hikaru shouted, worry straining his voice. "I checked all of his labs, his room, even the _mess hall!_ He isn't anywhere!"

"Calm down, Hikaru. He can't have gone far," Sensei Keiken assured the panicking Exo-Force pilot. "Most likely he's somewhere in one of his labs."

"But I already--"

"You didn't search every corner and behind every pile, am I right? Now it's time to search _thoroughly_." Sensei Keiken shook his head. "If that boy wasn't sick…" he said warningly, leaving the rest up to Hikaru's imagination.

Hikaru closed the communication channel, sighing. Just then, he heard a clatter from one of the med center's labs. Frowning, he moved to the door of Lab-02, and leaned his head against it, straining to hear. A low mutter, and the scuffle of someone moving around convinced Hikaru someone was in there, but who? Probably one of the Medics… but what would a Medic be doing in Lab two? It was supposedly off-limits, set aside for top-secret testing…

Carefully, Hikaru wrapped his hand around the handle and twisted slowly. Silently the handle twisted until the latch released with a click that sounded like a gunshot to Hikaru's ears. _There's no way whoever's in there didn't hear that,_ he thought despairingly. The movement in the lab stopped for an agonizing moment, then, with a muttered ejaculation of some sort, movement began again, with more vigor.

Carefully Hikaru slid the door open a crack and leaned down, peering in. He could see nothing, just a counter with several bottles and beakers sitting on it. A white coat suddenly stepped in front of his line of vision, right in front of the door. Hikaru gasped and jumped back.

The door swung open. Folding his arms, Ryo glared at Hikaru without amusement. "Well, either come in our stay out, but don't stand there like a fool," he ordered, spinning around and moving back across lab two.

Hikaru walked in carefully, glancing around. "What is this?" He asked, glancing around furtively.

Ryo sighed wearily, glancing at Hikaru with strained patience. "Hold on a moment, then I'll explain," he said, moving across to a test tube, swishing the contents inside slightly. His eyes narrowed, then frowning and replacing it in it's holder, he turned to Hikaru.

"What is this?" Hikaru asked a second time. "What are you doing?"

Ryo sighed, grabbing a chair from in front of a computer and shoving it across the floor. "Sit," he ordered. "This will be a long explanation."

Frowning, Hikaru sat. "Okay, so…"

"If you keep talking, I can't tell you anything," Ryo snapped, grabbing a chair for himself and sitting down. "Although, I suppose it's time I told you. I certainly threw Exo-Force for a loop with this," he muttered, shaking his head.

"You threw Exo-Force for a loop? How? With what?" Hikaru asked, curiosity piqued.

"Well, it was bound to come out sooner or later," Ryo murmured. Then, glancing at Hikaru with a smile, the techie gestured at the lab surrounding them. "I've been experimenting with contagions."

"Contagions?" Hikaru asked, not quite understanding.

"Contagions!" Ryo repeated. "Pathogens!"

Hikaru frowned. "You mean, you…"

"Yes," Ryo answered, "I've been experimenting with highly contagious, deadly _diseases_. Contagions. Pathogens. Call them what you wish-- that's what I've been working on."


	5. Chapter 4

AN: Well, here it is. The contagion conspiracy. Aren't you proud? enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5:

"You've been experimenting with Pathogens? Diseases?!" Hikaru repeated, grateful he was already sitting.

"Yes, in a way," Ryo answered. "I've been very careful, but apparently not quite careful enough…"

"Not careful enough-- Ryo! You could have died!" Hikaru snapped, leaning forward, eyes flashing.

"Precisely what I was saying," Ryo answered.

"Look at where your experimenting got you," Hikaru snapped. "Sent to the med center! Which is where you _should _be, might I remind you."

"Not yet," Ryo said. "I've almost got this."

"No! No more experimenting!" Hikaru yelled. "You're crazy! You'll kill yourself!"

"Well, maybe," Ryo said. "But it'd be worth the research."

"What are you experimenting with them _for_?" Hikaru demanded, almost standing, except that Ryo shot him a venomous look that obviously said '_stay put if you know what's good for you'._

"Well, actually, it's rather complicated…" Ryo said, leaning back in his chair.

"I don't care, Ryo. Tell me!" Hikaru insisted. "Why were you experimenting with diseases?"

"Well, I suppose I wasn't so much experimenting with Pathogens as I was _studying_ them," Ryo said, staring into space.

"Studying them? Why?" Hikaru asked.

"I can't answer that," Ryo said quickly. "Not yet, anyway."

"Well, then answer this-- why did you mislead everyone? You let us think the Robots had figured out biological warfare! How could you?!" Hikaru shouted, jumping up.

"Hikaru, it wasn't that I didn't want to tell you guys, but…" Ryo sighed. "Well, it's complicated! Look--"

"_Synthesis complete,"_ said the computer from behind Hikaru.

Ryo jumped up, an expression of excitement flashing across his features. "Ah!" he cried, running over and quickly typing in a few commands. "Come on," he muttered, "Show me the preview," stepping back with a smile, Ryo tapped a button with a flourish and stepped back, anticipation quickening his heart rate.

Hikaru turned around to see a picture waver into view on the computer screen. The picture showed a machine-like structure with an icosahedron capsule, encasing a strand of what looked like a list of ones and zeroes paired together in a long chain.

"What is that?" Hikaru demanded, jumping up. He'd seen a picture that looked somewhat like that before, he just didn't remember where…

"This?" Ryo asked, a smile spreading across his face, "This is the prototype for a virus… A _robot _virus."

"But… what about robots? Won't they have their own biological attacks? Won't they fight back?" Hikaru demanded. "If you infect them, they'll infect us right back!"

Ryo shook his head. "To them, it's just a conspiracy," he said, "Nothing more. They're still running it through those analytical heads of theirs."

"What's the big deal, then?" Hikaru demanded. "They can just send the disease at us at any time, can't they?"

"Not exactly," Ryo answered, "because they'd have to find a way to infect us, get the disease to a place we could actually infect ourselves-- inhale it, get it into our bloodstreams, like so."

Hikaru frowned. "So, you mean…"

"It's simpler for us," Ryo insisted. "All it requires is plugging this virus into any part of a computer, be it one of their battle machines, or anything! Like a biological virus, it will disable any alarms to tell the rest of the computers something's wrong… until it's too late." Ryo grinned triumphantly. "To them, what is nothing more than a conspiracy is to us, a possibility of absolute victory."

"But…" Hikaru tried, "if it's just a conspiracy--"

"A contagion conspiracy. A plan using pathogens to wipe out robots before they do the same to us. It's a race, Hikaru," Ryo said, "And we won." With a smile, Ryo returned to his test tubes and beakers. "You can go now, if you want," he said, leaving no doubt as to what he really meant. "And please, don't tell anyone else about this."

"I guess so," Hikaru agreed, turning and slowly leaving, mind whirling with a single phrase. _We won…we won…we won!_


End file.
